My Fitness Journey & Tips

I have honestly learned so much on my journey, fitness has become a massive part of my life, and I can’t believe how much I adore working out now. If you were to say to me 6 years ago, you would fall in love with fitness, I would have honestly laughed and said that you were talking rubbish and you’d never see me in workout gear in a million years. I’m going to talk to you about what I’ve learned, how I got into it, and tips that can help you to get into the fitness spirit!

I have previously talked about my weight loss journey so if you are interested in having a little read, then here are the links. [1] [2]

So let’s take a look back at the person that I was before I started getting into fitness, and you might be a little bit shocked.

This was me, I was literally in absolute denial about what I was eating, whether I was healthy but also how much weight I had actually put on. When I saw this photo however, I knew that something had to change, I couldn’t stay like this, I was damaging my health, I was in a lot of pain when I was moving around doing day to day activities. So I was ready for a change, I knew that it wouldn’t be easy, it wouldn’t happen straight away, but I was ready for the long haul.

How Did I Do It?

I firstly started off with doing little workouts with my husband, and he gave me the biggest kick up my backside in the world, he was the best. We started off by doing a little boxing, this really helped with my depression because I was able to get out a lot of emotion by doing the workout. We would do drills in the garden, I mean in freezing cold weather, I would be absolutely freezing when I first got out there but once I started getting my backside moving I was all good.

Once I started doing that, I bought some quite cheap workout equipment, I got an exercise ball and some weights to increase my workouts, I started doing crunches, push ups, weighted squats, bicep curls, hammer curls and all things that I hadn’t done previously without it.

By this point, I had lost about a dress size, I’d also changed my eating habits too, but I hit the plateau, and I was at that point where I still couldn’t go out on my own, so going for a run wasn’t a brilliant option for me because it just wasn’t possible. So instead my fantastic husband bought me my own personal cross trainer and exercise bike. It’s a 2 in 1 and honesty it has helped me so much.

I’d do 500 calories of cardio, because it was my absolute favourite, and then I would get into yoga. Words can’t describe how much love I have for my yoga practice, more on that later. At first I really really struggled to even do a downward dog, or a forward fold because I couldn’t bend properly, I couldn’t even touch my knees I was that unfit. As I continued with my yoga practice, I worked on planks & side planks (total killer for your abs and literally all over your body) I moved up to doing a bow pose and lotus, and eventually as I gained confidence. I went ahead and did a few inversions.

This is my yoga practice over Christmas, I love being upside down, it’s such a beautiful place!

So How Far Have I Come?

I have officially lost 9 dress sizes, it has taken me over a year and a half but I’m getting there! I’m still working hard, and I’m trying to push myself to the max and I am not going to give up because my health and happiness matters and when it gets tough, I remind myself of this.

So You Want To Get Into Fitness?

I’m going to go through some incredible tips to help you to get into loving your fitness routine!

Try 30 minutes a day.

30 minutes a day is something that is easy to do and you can fit into your everyday life. If you continue with that consistency, you can show yourself that you can fit it into your daily life but you can build on it too!

Try to workout in the morning.

When you get home at night, you might have had a really stressful day, you’re shattered, the trains might have been late, or your bus had been cancelled, you got soaked because you forgot a coat and umbrella, all of these things can impact upon whether you exercise.

One thing that helped me was waking up a little earlier in the morning, I’d leave my workout clothes where I would see them first thing in the morning, I’d make sure that I had water bottles ready and I was ready to go. One top tip, prepare as much as you can the night before, clothes for work, shower products for when you come home, just be ready, that way you have no way to try and worm your way out of it.

Find a workout you enjoy.

When you want to workout you want to find something that you enjoy, I enjoy my cross trainer, and my exercise bike, but I also love my yoga because it is something that gets me in touch with all my muscles and gives me a fantastic workout.

When you don’t like it, it feels like a chore, and you don’t even want to workout, so find something you enjoy the most, because if you want to be able to continue with it, enjoying it is part of the journey.

There are lots of things that you can try so don’t give up!

Focus on progress.

When we’re working out, we put so much pressure on ourselves to make changes, and to see those changes instantly but remind yourself that it is about progress not being perfect. When I first started I spent my days saying that I wasn’t good enough at it to keep doing it. But then I reminded myself that I just need to do it, I need to get it done, it’s not about whether or not I’m good at it right now, the more I do it, the better I will get, I just need to keep going, not give up because my health deserves the best.

Focus on healthy living not fad diets

The last thing you need is fad diets, you’re a beautiful person, and you want to follow something that you can keep up with, not something that you will do for a while, then go back to the lifestyle you were living before you started straight after you’ve finished. It’s about consistency and it’s also about finding healthy happiness.

Final note

Healthy living is about balance, it isn’t about starving yourself of things that you want, if you want a cookie, have a cookie and enjoy every moment of it. Don’t starve yourself, your body needs food and it needs all of the food groups, including things like carbs, fats, proteins everything! It’s all about balance, you can do this, if you want this, then you can do this!

If you have any questions, then I am always more than happy to answer anything you might want to know about!

22 Comments

You are so courageous and I love you for sharing your story. I read this now at a time where I really really need some positive inspiration and this post right here is perfect. You have come such a long way and it’s so inspiring to see that you are loving it, so maybe if you can that so can I. Thank you for this.

Thank you so much Margot, it honestly means a lot! It honestly such a difficult thing to continue going with, but I promise you darling it is totally worth it! If there is anything I can do to help you on this journey, then please let me know. ?

This is such a great post Amie – I’m hoping to really get going this year on improving my fitness levels and my diet too. I want to transition across to a more vegan lifestyle and diet so as it’s something which I’ve been looking at for a while – I’ve been an on/off vegetarian for a long time and I feel like it’s time to make a decision and all of your fitness tips are amazing. Also, well done, you’re doing brilliantly! – Tasha

Thank you so much Natasha, I think if it is something you want to do then transition slowly, don’t rush it, start off by cutting dairy out, and then by having one plantbased meal a day, that really helped me when transitioning. If you need anything lovely, please do message me. I’m always more than happy to help. ?

Your journey is so inspiring, and you’ve come so far I can’t help but feel proud! I 100% agree with finding workout you love – I do Blogilates and yoga, it makes all the difference to not dread it (and even if you’re not in the mood after 10 mins you remember why you love the workout!).

I’ve always been a bit in two minds about whether I need to lose weight (maybe I’m in denial), but this year I’m focusing on getting fitter and learning to love myself!

Remember it’s not all about losing weight, you’re beautiful in every way! It’s about having a healthy lifestyle and having times where you can just get all of that stress out and give it everything you physically can! Love yourself and enjoy and fit lifestyle 🙂 ?

I love this Amie! You’ve done amazing 🙂 It took me ages to work out that I love doing Zumba and Pilates, and it’s taken me years to figure this out! Lets hope I can keep doing it this year 🙂 Thanks for sharing!! Tania xx taniamichele.blogspot.co.uk

This is a great post on so many levels, not the least of which is your focus on healthy weight loss. Too many young people these days are looking for the quick fix. You’re such a positive role model! Also you’re adorable! That smile lights up the page.

This post is actually so inspirational. I used to exercise everyday, but stopped a while ago. I’ve wanted to get back into it, but have had zero motivation. You sharing this post with your tips, and the results has helped a lot! Thank you:) x

Your post made me feel so bad!! And I thank you for that honestly! About a year ago I used to do at least 5 hours of workout every week and I used to feel so great about it! Now that I’m in Uni I just got so “lazy”! There are weeks I do zero workout and I want to change that so bad but I never seem to find the right motivation! I hate it!
You have been doing so well, honestly and your love for yoga just reminded how much I loved some of the yoga workouts I used to do! I really need to get back on that and get my ass moving! You really have been doing amazing 🙂 xx

Oh Rita please don’t feel bad! It’s natural, you’re really busy with uni, reading and everything, it’s not like you can help it! Just try to go for a long walk chill out, and that could be a wonderful start! If you ever need anything please let me know?

I am you 6 years ago. I used to freak out when I was a size 14-16 and now im size 20-22. It’s gotten to the point where I too sometimes struggle with like walking up a hill!? I’m 21?! I’m becoming more and more motivated from reading posts like this so THANK YOU so much for sharing!

I’m also in my final year at uni and have been using this as an excuse to not get started (as i’ve been doing for years now) but I love your little hints and tips to just fit in little bits to adjust. Even in the comments, I am totally using that 1 plant based meal a day and possibly to cut out dairy during this heavy exam time for me!

I used to love going for long walks or runs and even yoga (like you!) but now i’m just too ashamed to get out there. I’m set to start teaching secondary science this september and dread lecturing kids on ‘healthy eating’ when i’m clearly not doing that myself! Totally going to follow your advice though so thank you and thanks for sharing the photos, which may have been hard. You’ve come so far :).

Thank you so much Polly! You can do this, little swaps are the best way to start and move forward. Never be shamed of y ourself, you’re a beautiful human being, and that is important to remember, you’ve just had a rough few years that is all and with university it can be easy to just let your fitness go to the side for a while, take it one mean and one day at a time and I promise that you will get there! If you ever need any more help and support pelase do let me know, I’m always here for you!?

This was such an inspiring post! Well done on getting to such a great place with your health – it certainly isn’t easy. I totally agree that finding something you enjoy is key. And if you think you hate all types of exercise, get out of your comfort zone and try things – you might be surprised.

Exactly, getting out of your comfort zone is so important, I think that there is definitely something for everyone out there, even though it can be incredibly difficult. I think if you take it one work out at a time and one step at a time then everything will be okay!?